Two weeks ago Microsoft held an analysts meeting at their headquarters.
I've spoken with several people who attended, who revealed
some telling details of the event. A significant amount of time was
devoted to Linux, including dedicated sessions designed to continue the
anti-Linux propaganda that

"it's not cheaper" and "it's not more
secure." If it's not either of those, why would anyone consider Linux?
Even the most ardent Linux fans would be hard-pressed to claim that
Linux is easier than Microsoft.

More interesting was the information that is slowly leaking out about a crippled version of Microsoft Windows XP in
the works called "Starter Kit," which many believe is meant to slow Linux adoption overseas. I
predicted this development more than a year ago (see MS Windows XP
Lite), as Microsoft for the first time in a decade faces meaningful
competition. Microsoft's "one pricing globally"
strategy is something they must abandon. Only a monopoly can get away
with that - every other company has to tailor their price to the
market. Part of this is creating differentiated products suited for
each market. The Starter Kit seems to be the first example of this.

What surprises me is just how limited the Starter Kit will apparently
be. If this was a car, it would start but then you'd find out it only
goes 25 mph because the parking brake is intentionally and permanently
left on. Certain limitations also seem misguided, like limiting
multi-user
machines which are likely to be popular in emerging markets. There's no
good reason for Microsoft to give an inferior product to third world
countries except to protect their profits. Americans would reject these
products, but apparently they believe others will not be so discerning.
I think they'll be surprised how savvy the computer buyers in these
countries will be.

From the information I've gathered, which may be incomplete given that
the Starter Kit hasn't been released yet, here's how the Starter Kit
seems to compare to Linspire, and the decision
emerging markets will have to make:

Buyers of the Starter Kit will still be paying a significant premium
over Linspire. They will also receive a product that is quite limited when
compared with its Linux counterpart. Also, Microsoft appears to have very
judiciously selected only minor languages. What happens when they want
to offer a product to India who requires it in English? Microsoft will be
hard pressed to offer them a product since there will almost
immediately be a grey market where it is re-imported into the US and
other places.

The good
news is that these are the seeds of healthy competition slowly
germinating. Microsoft claims to have 600 people working on Starter.
I'm not sure it takes 600 people to rip features out of XP. Perhaps
it's time for Microsoft to consider a Linux product of their own? We
have less than 100 employees and have made a product that compares very
favorably to the full-featured version of of XP, let alone the version
shown in the chart above. Now that would "start" things up in a
big way...

-- MichaelThe Michael's Minute Meter

62%

24%

13%

AGREE

DISAGREE

MIXED

Do YOU generally agree or disagree with Michael in this week's Minute shown above?